Alfred Tennyson Alfred Lord Tennyson1809 1892 Poet laureate

Alfred Tennyson

Alfred, Lord Tennyson(1809 -1892) Poet laureate; the representative or spokesperson of the age

About Tennyson • Born in Sommersby, England on August 6, 1809, the 4 th of 12 children of a clergyman; • Went to study at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1827; • Toured Europe together with Arthur Hallam, his closest friend, while still undergraduates; • Published his Poems in 1842, a work that include "Ulysses, " "Tithonus, " and other famous short lyrics, a critical success;

• Made Poet Laureate in 1850 in succession to Wordsworth; • With this title he became the most popular poet in Victorian England. • Made a baron in 1884, the only English poet ever to have been ennobled for poetry writing; • Died in 1892, at the age of 83, and was buried at Westminster Abbey;

Major poetic works • "The Lady of Shalott" --a long narrative poem based on an old Italian romance; much of the poem's charm stems from its sense of mystery and elusiveness; • "Ulysses" --a dramatic monologue in which Tennyson reworks the figure of Ulysses by drawing on the ancient hero of Homer's Odyssey ("Ulysses" is the Roman form of the Greek "Odysseus") and the medieval hero of Dante's Inferno.

• "In Memoriam" -- his greatest work, a series of elegies on the death of Hallam; not merely dwelling on his personal grief, but expressing his philosophical and religious thoughts--his doubts about the meaning of life and the significance of man's existence; noted for its profound feeling and artistic beauty;

• "Idylls of the King "--about King Arthur, the legendary British leader who resisted the Anglo-Saxon invaders of sixthcentury England.

Reasons for Tennyson's popularity • He is an extremely skilful tecknician in poetry writing; his poetry is noted for lyrical beauty and metrical charm. • He was very representative of his age in mental and emotional outlook.

Break, Break

Break, Break • In this poem, the poet's own feelings of sadness are contrasted with the carefree and innocent joys of the children and the unfeeling movement of the ship and the seawaves.

Crossing the Bar

Crossing the Bar • Tennyson wrote "Crossing the Bar" in 1889, three years before he died. The poem describes his placid and accepting attitude toward death.